Indigenous language expert finds passion for linguistics at the College

As a SUNY New Paltz student, Stephen Greymorning ’73 (Anthropology) had an epiphany that would change the course of his career. After blindly pulling a book from the library shelves that dealt with the state of native languages in America, the alumnus felt called to action.

“I came to realize how much culture was being lost,” said Greymorning. “That single event led me to take every linguistic class offered; it set me on the path to where I am today.”

Greymorning has since developed one of the strongest global teaching methods for language acquisition, and his effort to keep the languages Indigenous to North America from slipping into extinction has been his professional objective for decades.

As a political anthropologist, Greymorning has conducted research among Indigenous peoples of Australia, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand, E. Timor and the United States. He currently holds joint positions in Anthropology and Native American Studies at Montana University and is dedicated to Native American language revitalization. His research includes Native American language maintenance and restoration, indigenous sovereignty issues, and contemporary Native American issues. He has been instrumental in the development of a break-through method for second-language instruction and acquisition called Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA).

While Greymorning credits that day in the library with beginning his work in linguistics, athletics also played a significant role in helping him achieve his goals. He attributes his time as a diver on the swim team and his experience with track and field with giving him the ambition to obtain his doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma.

“I discovered a statistic that only 10% of those who get to their dissertation level ever finish and become awarded their doctorate,” he said. “My time as an athlete at New Paltz gave me the discipline and resilience to be within that 10% who finished.”

Greymorning’s athletic accomplishments at the College were many and he went on to win the 3-meter event at the 2002 Master Word Games in Melbourne, Australia.

But for him, SUNY New Paltz is where it all began.

“I want current and prospective students to know what’s available here at SUNY New Paltz,” he said. “Looking back, I know the College can give them some of the best years and memories of their lives.”